[aarhus2004]

To fellow Windows Millennium users - a very happy New Year. To all others, well, just delete the 'very'.

After a few weeks of "finicky" (thanks bogle) behavior, my ME appears to have settled down again. I put it down, in the absence of any better ideas, to a variety of causes. Certainly there was neglect since I became absorbed by 'alien' systems suffering from prolonged neglect. I also, after weeks, nay months of problem-free usage, unchecked KB891711 under the 'Services' tab in Mike Lin's Startup Control Panel. It remains unchecked, but installed, since Windows Updates reveals nothing needed. Then there was the small matter of fever - mine - when I tend to ask more of WinME in a given time than normally would be the case. Applying the impatient spurs to this workhorse foal/filly of the 21st. Century is foolish and unkind. A guarantee of the finicky, the balks, whatever.

Do you use Delindex? Renaissance Man, who has little patience with fools or ignoramuses, produced this most versatile clean-up toy, primarily for WinME, or so I think because he implies that with minor editing it can be made to serve last century's best O/S! It is available still - here:

http://www.burzurq.com/forum/delindex.html

WinME loves it. If you prefer, as I do, to update manually and choose this option for Windows Updates (Control Panel>Automatic Updates) a line of code will have to be nullified otherwise the setting for 'Turn off automatic updating...' will revert to the automatic. This is the line in the delindex.bat Section 1

deltree /y c:\progra~1\window~2\>nul which when nullified reads
::deltree /y c:\progra~1\window~2\>nul

And if you have folders of images other than those in 'My Pictures' then, in order to control the Thumbs.db and its unrestricted growth, an additional line of code is needed. Here is an example (from Section 2):

deltree /y c:\mydocu~1\pictures\thumbs.db

I have long been intrigued by the sensational and specifically that which applies to security concerns for computers. Last October I decided to explore the risks involved. When I purchased WinME and all that essentially accompanied it (Sept.'00) I had no idea of the extent to which we would become bedeviled by these security concerns. I was however, persuaded by a salesperson that a very good investment would be a router. I bought one without having a clue as to what it was to protect me from.

Five years later I have a better idea. And it (the router) is still in-line between my computer and the viscous world beyond! But apart from the router and HijackThis I have no security. I was nervous in the beginning. Today I feel a certain freedom which has grown during the weeks that followed the decision to ditch all the familiar freewares associated with security. But of this more anon. Perhaps I shall ditch the router and HijackThis - Microsoft, so I understand, will no longer concern itself with the security of Windows Millennium as in June this year, thus relieving us of the need to diligently check for updates.

One final note. This freeware (long in its beta phase) offers some goodies as Tweaks:

http://www.hoverdesk.net/freeware.htm (and it is because of the tweaks that it gets a mention here, its limitations as a registry cleaner are pretty well documented in these forums). See the attached GIF as to how I use the Tweaks.

All the best. And thanks to bellgamin, ramean and anglin fool for the input.

And let us just ignore the scallywags and fools, since, if we engage them, we merely sink to their level.

[aarhus2004]

Hello - again,

How very pleasant it is to think that the readers of this thread will, for the most part, be fellow users of Windows Millennium.

I came across a great site today chock-a-block full of stuff of interest to anyone using 'our' operating system but I will come back to that.

A question for you. How long does it take your computer to boot into WinME? It maybe revealing.
A simply freeware which will tell you how long - from here:

http://www.blueorbsoft.com/ble/ let us know how long? Oh and while are at that site why not download this simple freeware here:
http://www.blueorbsoft.com ScanDefrag v5.2 as an aid to easy daily maintenance I know of none finer.

******************************************
Do you ever have an inclination to do away with the 'splashy' MS ad which insists on showing itself as you bootup? If so do this:

Unhide All Folders and Files. (In Control Panel>Folder Options>View tab)

Search for MSDOS.SYS

Right-click on it and click-on Properties:
Uncheck Read Only, Click Apply and OK.

Right-click on MSDOS.SYS
Open With Notepad

Under Options and after WinVer=
Add: Logo=0

Save Changes

Change: In Properties
Re-check Read Only, Click Apply and OK.

Restart.

**********************************************
Restart or Shutdown - a Desktop icon for each is a direct way to do either.

Right-click on the Desktop and click-on New & Shortcut. Up will come the Create Shortcut box
In Command line copy and paste this:

C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL.EXE user.exe,exitwindows

Name the shortcut SHUTDOWN or whatever

repeat the exercise only this time in the Command line copy and paste this:

C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL32.EXE shell32.dll,SHExitWindowsEx 2

name it RESTART or whatever.

**************************************************

Is your system DMA enabled? Although some systems manufactured in 2000 (and possibly later) lack that which is essential to this enablement, many can have it. Read this:

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=642

***************************************************

Does your Control Panel expansion (see Start>Settings>Taskbar and Start Menu>Advanced tab>Check Expand Control Panel) open instantly? If not you can easily make it do so. In my previous post (#16 above) I made mention of the RegSeeker freeware and its Tweaks options. One of them is called Menu Delay (ms) - place a zero in the box OR a simple registry edit will do the same thing (the Registry can be fun inspite of the dire warnings about modifying it). This is the edit:
Start>Run>type regedit>click OK the Registry editor will open. This is the Key you seek:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

Click on the + alongside HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Click on the + alongside Control Panel
Find Desktop

Click on the 'folder' actually a Key - Desktop and look in the right-hand pane (or window pane). You will see a list of items (under Name) one of which is called MenuShowDelay. In the second column (headed Data) you will find a Value. If that value is "0" you have nothing to change (edit). If it is other right-click on the name and choose Modify. In the line called Value data type 0 and click OK. In the left-hand pane and at the top may be seen Favorites. Click on it. Click on Add to Favorites you should see the word Desktop already for you to select. Click OK and you can return to the Key (Desktop) you have edited (or merely looked at) by selecting this Favorite. 'Bundle' all the keys back into tidiness by clicking on the - and turning them into +. Close the Registry Editor. Go to Start>Settings>move your mouse pointer onto Control Panel and watch it instantly open. Of course the choice of how fast the menus open is yours. If you prefer the more slow just change that "0" to any number of milli-secs.

************************************************************

The link I mentioned at the beginning of this post is here:

http://www.uninets.net/~blaisdel/Millennium.html (it opens slowly on account of Java loading - I think!)

Although he (the author) calls our WinME the third edition of last century's last Windows version he does so with tongue in cheek (diplomatically?) in view of the stubbornness of most of us to move on from the familiar (tried and true).

It is full of the worthwhile for Millennium folk.

Cheers.

[bellgamin]

@aarhus- Grrrreat schtuff! Thanks for the tips & excellent downloads.

One of my computers is 233Mhz, 256MB ram, & runs WinMe. Hasn't needed a reformat in >4 years. I thought those folks running WinME on an older box might be interested in security programs which run well under such a set-up. The following are extremely light. That is, not only are they effective but also they use very small Ram while running, AND they also use very little true System Resources (as determined by WindowsKey + PauseKey > Performance Tab > read "System Resources"]...

*Antivirus = DrWeb.
*Antitrojan + anti-spyware + anti-keylogger = A-squared Personal
*System Integrity Scanner (on-demand + at startup) = Watcher (it's free)
*Registry + Startup Monitor = WinPatrol Plus -- protects auto-start menu, selected/sensitive registry items & HOSTS file.
*Script Monitor = Script Defender (it's free. Once SD sets its *hooks* it has zero system impact)

[aarhus2004]

Hello bellgamin,

I can't seem to stay logged-n to TSG whilst I am creating a post so I will this time be brief - I hate typing!

Thanks for the post. I think you are right in that the older machines and folk using them with ME probably need as much encouragement as any. The links are interesting and I only have experience of A-squared (free version) - I liked it very well.

Do you have any thoughts on routine maintenance?

Cheers.

[bellgamin]

Originally Posted by aarhus2004

Do you have any thoughts on routine maintenance?

I use Ace Utilities every day to: (1) find & fix broken shortcuts, (2) keep the registry clean, (3) dump junk files, (4) securely clean up private info, & (5) manage autostart. Ace is safe, fast, & does an excellent job.

[aarhus2004]

Originally Posted by bellgamin

I use Ace Utilities every day to: (1) find & fix broken shortcuts, (2) keep the registry clean, (3) dump junk files, (4) securely clean up private info, & (5) manage autostart. Ace is safe, fast, & does an excellent job.

Thanks for that, bellgamin,

It is very interesting for me to find a user of software which is not freeware. There is so much made in these forums of the latter.

The Acelogix website is one of the best of its kind I have seen. I felt the same about DrWeb. I shall take advantage of the 30 day trial offer of Acelogix.

I'd like to ask your thoughts, in terms of routine maintenance, as to how you approach the Disk defragmenting or rather how you would approach it if WinME were your only system? This is another area where there is little agreement as to frequency.

I see this morning that MS are to issue yet another Update for WinME with regard to vulnerabilities:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4587434.stm

Cheers, bellgamin.

[bellgamin]

Originally Posted by aarhus2004

It is very interesting for me to find a user of software which is not freeware.

I try to use *the best* software I can find. If that needs $$$, sobeit. However, it's also true that the best things in life are often free. For instance, the best anti-spam program I have found (& I have tested several dozen) is Spamihilator.

I shall take advantage of the 30 day trial offer of Acelogix.

I think you'll like. I've used it for years & it's rigorously maintained. Excellent support is there, too, but I've never needed it.

I'd like to ask your thoughts, in terms of routine maintenance, as to how you approach the Disk defragmenting or rather how you would approach it if WinME were your only system? This is another area where there is little agreement as to frequency.

I defrag ~every 2 months, using Diskeeper Lite - it's free.

I use two medium-sized hard drives in preference to one huge one. I keep Windows on drive C, together with all programs except those for security (antivirus, antitrojan, etc). I keep all my data files & security programs on drive D. Defrag is needed less often with that set-up because neither drive gets as fragmented as does one huge drive doing the same amount of read/write. Also, wear & tear on either drive is much less than using just one drive.

I see this morning that MS are to issue yet another Update for WinME with regard to vulnerabilities:

Thanks for the heads-up. I don't keep track of that as closely as I should.

Haoli makahiki hou (Happy New Year)!!!

bellgamin

[aarhus2004]

bellgamin,

Haoli makahiki hou to you too.

Really appreciate your input in this thread.

[aarhus2004]

Hello,

The shortcuts I mentioned in Post #17 (those for the Desktop and for Shutdown & Restart) have a connection to the ShellIconCache. This is a hidden system file which manages a computer's icons. It may be viewed by a Search on C:\ (providing you have your Folder Options>View tab>Show hidden files and folders checked/bulleted).

I had long ago read a 'Tip' somewhere that this ShellIconCache could grow and grow in size and that the way to tame it was to delete it; Windows would recreate it on the next boot-up. I did delete it. And thought no more about it. I enjoy creating my own desktop shortcut icons (out of small bmp images) and quite recently wondered why they flicker as boot-up completes before settling down. Being lazy it had taken me a year or more to arrive at the wish to find out if I really had to live with this flicker of the homemades. I began by wondering about the ShellIconCache. I thought I would take a look at it. It was not present. It didn't exist.

I know longer have the flicker since I now have a ShellIconCache. If you want to know more go here:

http://www.microsoft.com/communities...&lang=en&cr=us

look for the post "Missing ShellIconCache" on the 4th January.

Cheers, ME users.

[hunters]

I have 98, ME, 2000, and XP pro OS's and the I find ME the easiest to work with. I have brought my ME to its knees and back again. I like ME because it has no fluff and is forces me to do things for myself. XP is to fluffy and I find things are harder to find. Plus it will do a lot of things for me that I need to do for myself. ME is a great tool to learn on.
Thanks for starting this thread.

[aarhus2004]

hunters

No disagreement - and thanks.

[ekim68]

Originally Posted by aarhus2004

hunters

No disagreement and thanks.

Thanks again. I've been busy saving and printing all the stuff on this thread.
As soon as I can, I'm gonna check them all out. Figured out a couple, though, and
again thanks.
My main machine is ME and it treats me fine..

[hunters]

Changed my control panel setting!!!!
way cool!!!!

[aarhus2004]

Ward van Wanrooij was (maybe still is) a student at a university in the Netherlands. In the year prior to the launch of Windows Millennium he created a small tool for taking a quick-look at the hidden files which are stored on our computers as we surf the Net. He had more ambitions for his Spider - as he named the tool. It was designed to delete what it found after a reboot. I have used this small freeware for most of the time I have had my system. I doubt a day goes when I don't use it - just to see what has been hidden.

One click to open its GUI and one to run its program. Couldn't be simpler. How do I know it is accurate? A purchased software (PurgeI.E.) confirms it or rather it confirms the action of PurgeI.E., (and Delindex - see post #16) too. As a removal tool it never did work but I have come to trust implicitly what it reports as hidden on my computer.

It may be downloaded here:

http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/fil...id,6481,00.asp and this short article tells of it (remember it was written in 1999):

"MSIE has a little known privacy 'bug/feature' in which it stores visited URLs in hidden 'index.dat' files even after users clear cache and history files. Spider finds these files and allows you to delete them from your hard drive. Spider also lets you clear temporary Internet and history files as well as cookies."

I attach a GIF of the GUI before and after cleaning with Delindex .

[aarhus2004]

and Some Interesting Links.

Hello, I am sure the majority of Windows Millennium users will, by now, be aware that support for our operating system will end on June 30th. 2006. Microsoft has, in part, this to say:

"Effective June 30, 2006, Windows Me (and its related components) will transition to a non-supported status. After this date, Microsoft will no longer provide any incident support options or security updates. Microsoft is not offering a custom support agreement for this product." (n.b. Edited for this thread).

This is not a cause for alarm since those existing updates, from the very first to the date mentioned will still be available from the catalog - here:

http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.co...en/default.asp

******************

I was very pleased to find this website today:

http://www.kayodeok.btinternet.co.uk...kbasewinme.htm

Searching for 'stuff' on WinMe is inevitably rewarding. One's tech. folder is packed with articles and links garnered over five years. I have made a resolution than each time my ISP goes down I will attempt to bring some order to mine.

******************

Here is an interesting "rant" about the limitations of our preferred O/S.

http://www.apptools.com/rants/resources.php

I think it well written and can have no quarrel with it. My resources after a couple of surfing/music-converting/etc hours on-line show the figures as per the attached gif. A reboot would change those figures but I detect no actual slow-down in performance since they are still relatively high. I read 'somewhere' (sorry ) that this is an interesting thing to do; open the same window to a website and watch those figure sneak down. I opened ten instances of the above link at which point the resource meter showed 63/70/63. After closing them all the meter showed 80/80/82 which is close to what the meter gif shows.
Where is the Resource Meter? Start>Settings>Control Panel>Add/Remove Programs>Windows Setup tab>System Tools - highlight this and click on Details. I find this so interesting I have in my Startup folder - and so it sits by the clock. Double click the icon and up it pops, or hover the mouse pointer over the icon and get the read-outs that way.

HiJackThis has to be a tool we are all, or nearly all, aware of - available here:

http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/ scroll well down the page, current version 1.99 or properly 1.99.0.1

It gives a lot of information about our systems. So much so that I wish folk would post it automatically if they have problems with slow computers and other mysterious goings-on. The log-file HijackThis produces shows Running processes and a whole string of other items. I attach mine.

If you are interested in the items listed, copy the the log and paste it here:

http://www.hijackthis.de/

and careful reading of what the analysis says may well prompt you to seek further clarification of precisely what those assorted items mean.

See my log attached.

These are the significances associated with the "R0", R"1" etc.

R0, R1, R2, R3 - Internet Explorer Start/Search pages URLs
F0, F1 - Autoloading programs
N1, N2, N3, N4 - Netscape/Mozilla Start/Search pages URLs
O1 - Hosts file redirection
O2 - Browser Helper Objects
O3 - Internet Explorer toolbars
O4 - Autoloading programs from Registry
O5 - IE Options icon not visible in Control Panel
O6 - IE Options access restricted by Administrator
O7 - Regedit access restricted by Administrator
O8 - Extra items in IE right-click menu
O9 - Extra buttons on main IE button toolbar, or extra items in IE 'Tools' menu
O10 - Winsock hijacker
O11 - Extra group in IE 'Advanced Options' window
O12 - IE plugins
O13 - IE DefaultPrefix hijack
O14 - 'Reset Web Settings' hijack
O15 - Unwanted site in Trusted Zone
O16 - ActiveX Objects (aka Downloaded Program Files)
O17 - Lop.com domain hijackers
O18 - Extra protocols and protocol hijackers
O19 - User style sheet hijack

for more info:

http://aumha.org/a/hjttutor.php
http://www.malwarehelp.org/understan...ting-hjt1.html
http://www.pchell.com/support/hijackthistutorial.shtml
http://www.castlecops.com/HijackThis.html
or do a search here in TSG.

If you have a concern about your computers current performance count the number of items you have under the R04 heading - do you really need all of them? Post your log in the appropriate forum for your operating system and ask for a check of it.

Warning: The careless (uninformed) use of HijackThis can have serious consequences for your computer.

Here is a good example of a thread in TSG dealing with 'overburden':

http://forums.techguy.org/3281116-post1.html (from 12th.Jan.'06)

******************

In my post, #29 above, I wrote of Spider as being a great viewing tool for index.dat files. Well here is a tool for taking a quick look at the burden of all the other files on your computer:

http://www.vb2java.com/cleanie.html

******************

And finally!!!!!!!!

Do you like acronyms? Really? Well they are a useful short-write, I guess. A good site here:

http://www.acronymfinder.com/

Cheers.